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I am participating to the new project, «Out of the Journal», started by Samantha and Dina: create two canvases a week. If possible 8×10 or more. I combine this with our 52 paintings done in 52 weeks. Here is Sam’s blogpost for more clarity: right there.

I really enjoyed this week’s paintings, that allowed me to complety get out (and pretty far away) of my usual creative comfort zone…

I love working on wood panels, but I don’t know why I stopped using them. This is such a different surface to work on, I just love it. I am a wood lover, and this time I really wanted it to still be visible.

She is filled with imperfection and amateurism. But I love her colorful shimmering hair (I will try to catch that later). Her body is white with blue shimmers. The words are not written big enough. But there is something about this painting that just yell at me «I am enough as I am, don’t try to perfect me»… So I simply listen 😉

Sometimes, the message is more important.

Oh my goodness…. this one brings me a lot of joy. She is not totally finished yet though. She is created on stretched canvas (surface I do not use that much anymore either…).

I began with two intertwined intentions: add a little bit of collage and play with colors, not mater what the media is.
I played with spray inks and then with white paint. Then, she emerged from there a few day later… My daughter can’t help but tell me how long her neck is. That’s true. And I love how my girls have this «me» thing that I can now speak of, but every single each of them is unique. Longer nose for one, longer neck… whatever it is, I just paint what I see.

I can’t wait to hear what message she has to whisper to me 🙂

This is it for my third week Out Of the Journal !

Hello !

Todaym I am participating to the new project from Samantha and Dina: create two canvases a week. If possible 82×102 or more. I combine this with our 52 paintings done in 52 weeks. Here is Sam’s blogpost for more clarity: right there.

2011 seems to be a really prolific year here in Inner Voices. Which bring a good, very very good feeling in my heart. And now that I am more confident regarding the fact of selling my original paintings, pleasure is even bigger, knowing that it will speak to someone who will be loving having the painting home.

I could not blog about the first week, so I do week #1 and #2 in the same post. Here is week #1, with only one painting (my work week was shorten to 3 days because of our vacation in the US):

«Our World» 14"x18"

It’s been quite a long time since I painted on bigger canvas, this one is 14″x18″; because of practical shipping reasons, I mostly paint on 8×10 or 9×12 canvas board. And thanks to Connie from Dirty Footprints Studio, I LOVE to paint big…

I really like how she turned out.

And now, here are the 3 (gloops) of this week:

«Open Up»

I am so over the moon to be able to express what happens inside of me onto a painting. Even if people do not necessarily get it, or not as I feel it. The mouth located in her throat is something powerful to me.
I don’t usually use 3D elements but I had fun painting this paper flowers with Lindy Stamp Gang’s product (there are two-toned flowers thanks to it) and add it in her hair. This is this je ne sais quoi that makes all the difference.

«Proudly Born This Way»

The words on this one are missing. And I really don’t like her eyes… but I am affraid to make it worse by wanting to fix it.

«I Dwell In Possibilities»

I just adoooooooooore this painting and its little imperfections. Inspired by the famous Davy Jones in «Pirates of the Caribbeans». This is in these moments that I appreciate having the sketchbook nearby with a pain (in this case, this time was in bed, with the sketchbook on my night table !). These movies are visually jam packed with inspiration, just amazing ! I wish I’d know how to draw…

If you follow my adventures on facebook, twitter or even on flickR, you got a taste of my latest mixed media painting almost step by step.

I don’t know what sparks your creativity, but songs and music is a huge trigger for me. A sentence, a word and BAM a lots of images are being created in my mind.

A few months ago, I told you just a little bit about Pink’s song «Fucking Perfect». This song, this video, moved a lot of stuff in me. Some of these things that belong to the past and you wish to never think of again; but that come back sometimes without any warning signal and spank you violently. This is what happened when I first watched this video that left me breathless, the tears running like a torrent from my eyes, sobbing in front of my computer. How could this be happening ?
When my husband asked me to put some words, to speak about what this song was doing to me, I was uncapable of producing a single word. It is always like this when emotions take over. Words are piling up in my throat, willing to get out, and stay stuck in there forming a huge painful lump. It took me months to write everything down about it. 5 pages got dark of words in my journal. Come back in the past, analyze, thank, appreciate the path that is mine since then and that brought me where I am now. It forged me with a hot iron. Something bad leading to something better ?

The end of her music video acted like my own special prophety. It arrived in my life perfectly on time when I needed it, when my heart was heavy with doubts about what I should do, where I will end eventually. This was the light at the end of tunnel.

I felt the need to put this into images, and this is how “Perfect” was born.
I must confess that Fear invented herself along. Fear that the finished painting would be ugly. Fear of being overwhelmed by emotions that would be too strong for me. Fear to get too attached to the painting. Fear of what you could see in it. But when I look at it, I realized that it is light and discrete. I am the keeper of her secrets, the only one to know what is hidden underneath the layers, under of glitters in her hair, why there are tears in her eyes.

She taught me not to be affraid when a step deflects from what I had originally in mind.
She taught me to embrace imperfections.
She allowed me to go on more serenely.

I still have one tiny thing to do that is linked with her. I have to dare doing what I have in mind…

Hello darling sunshines !

I really have to go back into my regular scheduling in blogging. I have so many things to share but spend so less time on my computer…

Here is the painting I am currently enjoying working on. It is on 9″x12″ canvas board (trying to figure out the best to finally sell some originals as well, without having to ask for expensive shipping fees):

I actually hate the background how it is now. There is something off about it. But is is okay because I will start over and cover it up, will see what happen then ! I learned to love every single step of the creating process, even when I actually don’t like what is happening.
If you look closer, you will see the lotus on her body. We can see it better in reality than on the picture but it is subtle.

I am playing with faces, trying to make them express something. But they are still kind of blah. So I practice. However, I like her.

What are you creating right now ? does not have to be a painting, i would love you to share with me in the comments if you’d like <3

Hello !

I hope you all had a Valentine’s day filled with Love.

Sometimes though, I feel like I don’t belong anywhere, that people do not like me (and/or what I create), that all is just a giant facade we are all part of. And the darkness begins to make her way inside, again.
With time, I realized that fighting it is vain. Tiring. But going with the flow with the will not to be drowned helps to keep this sensation short. For me, at least. It was a huge lesson I learned the hard way because I used to let the darkness win.

Acceptance, again and again. It IS hard, isn’t it ?

Do not feel guilty for having negative thoughts running through you, because your thoughts are not necessarily you. And it happens to all of us.

You will think you landed in Fluffy Bunny land but I do feel that Love, self-love especially, is the answer. Love yourself and people will love you. I thought it was just a nice quote before experiencing it myself. I don’t say this is easy, because this is not. When it comes to body image and how afraid I am of what people may think of me, it is a permanent struggle. But it does get better.

Painting and art journaling is my way of pulling out everything. And I am currently in needs of working on my Dark Side. So this is the first thing that came out, and it is also the fourth painting for our 52 paintings in 52 weeks challenge (i love this so much !).

I will post a picture as soon as I can, I am currently experiencing internet issue on my laptop, where all my stuff is located.

Here is the video:

I hope you enjoyed (it is not the best quality and I am sorry about that. Dealing with Vancouver cloudy weather).